Accessory for the ignition systems of internal-combustion engines.



M. H. MERRILL.

ACCESSORY FOR THE IGNITION SYSTEMS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1911,

i IVKELDON H; MERRILL. OF BOSTON. MASSACHUSETTS.

- ACCESSORY FCRTHE IGNITION SYSTEMS O1? INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES To all whom Z1 may com-era Be it known that Niame H. MERRILL. of Boston, in the county of Sutl'oll; and State of Massachusetts. a citizen of the United States, haye invented a new and nee- Specifieation'of Letters Patent.

ful Improvement in itcccsa ries for the Tgnition Systems. of lnternal-Cotnhustion lair gines of which the following is a full, clear. and exact description. reference being had to the accompanying' drawings. forming? a part of this spceifieation. inexplainin its nature.

My invention relates to an improyelnent in accessories for the ignition system; of internal combustion engines.

The object of my invention to supply the engine or rather the electrical ignition system thereof with tjtttll means or deyit-e as will obviate the lllllltltltllfi atiain g from the, lniSfillltEOf the ('ttlttl)tt tilil0 charge in any cylinder by proyidingg whereby the Fpztlk for ignition may he cut out or eliminated from any one or numt t'liuders without j1ll1IO\Vll1Q, strain on the ignition s stem: to 25' provide'also. a means: whereby the ignition or sparkin; de ice in one or more eylint-lers may be readily tested for fault and which means also set-yea to test the wiring in connectiontherewith and the Fltittlt't of eiee- 30 trioal supply.

It is a further object of my inyention to so adapt the (111 out and testing de it'e that it will'etl'et-t al o a inean of preventing an iopei'ation ot' the engine by unauthorized parties.

My iinention can best b seen and understood by referent-e to the drawiup in I which tion. Fig. 2 is a plan of lltt same.

nal end thereof.

Patented J une 17,1913.

Application filed May 10. 1911. v Serial No. 626.215.

.fnch as hard rubber. At one end the bar 1 1 provided with an attaching metal end piece 2 by which the bar may be secured to any rue of various types of spark plugs and the metal have contact withthe core of these plug: which connectswith the termi- For this purpose theentl piece '2 of the bar consists of a metal plate rig-idly atlixed to or inserted in. the" end of 1 the bar 1 with a slot 3 therein extending inshows in ide elevation the switch blade and Figs, and T how 1 its-operatin handle.

side eleyation the applit-ation of the tleJltu to the sparkinlq' plug: of a e linder. a po tion of tlieryinder only being shown. the tie-ur a also illr rat'ingr certain ttilllttl Qftdtltti'b n" tlieiswnteh' lilade t t-runny a int-Linn (.i' the er -beret some suitable in:,.%

wardly from one side of thepiece to aboutthe eenter thereof. Extending from .one bltll. of the end piece and. lying .in a plane outside that of the hodyor bar I iswa' coin tact t. This contact preferably. format: as shown. an integral part of the end pieeetbe iug a part turned up from the edge thereof.

At its opposite end the body or bar 1 is provided with a hole .3 extending trans 7 tenely through it and lying preferably in the Sztlnt plane or parallel plauew-ith the end piece or attaching plate 2. Connecting with the bar at the point of'this-hole is a stud of which (i represents the head which bears against the side of the banand Tits shank extending thrt'uuih the hole in the bar. The stud is held iii-place b a drawing nut- S threaded upon the projecting end oi? its shank and which nut bears against the side of the bar oppositt that against which the head of the tud is hearing. The projectin hault (it the stud l also proyided with a binding nut by which a eireuit wire 1-0 of an electrical ey tein may be attached to the stud acting as a hint-lung post.- the wire lieine' Ibtl'IOtl between the two nutg.

the head til the And-lies on thesanie ide ot' the bar 1 :i.--' the rtuitart l on the en piet'e ot' the bar and i ol .\uch extension that there may be arranged thereon and 't'trsa ,-rel -rabl y an integral part thereof, col ar: or tianges'l l. 12. re=peeti ely, 'i he e tlane'es lie anne'ly adjacent to one another hat iug' a clearance between them. Engaginn the head of the stud and turning thereaa fult-rumot support is anangular witch etaining of a handle 11: and hhule t3. lhe S"..l=.tltconnects; with the lit'zt l ot' the tud by lii' ircating the inner the blade which htso er the head of 1 --lt1tl between the. hinges ll. The pat t= are preferably so made that the blade w ll it l/ htly hetweenthe two flanges tto praetie tly retained by them though capat'reely on the head of the :tlltl. Elsiin the retention of the blade and prevent its turning too freely I prefer to incise the blade from the point where it engages the stud by which the blade may be made to yicldingly grip the same, thereby in addition to that imparted by the flanges 11, 12. The blade is of such length that as the lever is turned the outer end of the blade will engage the contact 4 on the end piece 2. In this connection it will be observed that the arrangement of the parts is such that. the blade may be turned eitherupwardly or downwardly by the face of this contact. In order to prevent the end of the blade from slipping downwardly off the contact when turned to engage the same, the contact is provided preferably with an offset or shoulder 16.

With reference to the application of the device to the spark plug of a cylinder, attention is directed to Fig. 4. in which 17 represents a cylinder, 18 a spark plug of common form connecting therewith and of which 19 represents the threaded body of the plug by which it is secured to the cylinder, 20 the insulated shell which will hereinafter be termed the side of'the plug, and 21 the core which extends as shown beyond the end of the plug and connects with the terminal end thereof (not shown) inside the cylinder.

The device comprising my invention is'attached to the plug by inserting its end piece 2 between the upper end of the plug and binding nuts 22, 23, arranged upon the projecting core thereof, the head straddling this core by the slot 3 in the head and contacting therewith whenupon tightening the nuts the end piece will be bound lard against the upper end of the plug and in electrical contact or communication with its core and terminal end. It is also to be observedby reference to Fig. 6 that the contact 4 of the end piece 2 which the blade of the switch is adapted to engage is held at a point just adjacent to the edge of the insulated side of the plug or just beyond the same. In other words, it is so held that if the switch blade is turned down from the contact 4 it will pass downwardly by the insulated side of the plug and engage the body 19 thereof. y

The operation of the device is as follows :--The initial current is received by way of the wire 10 and passes through the shank 7 and head 6 of the stud to the switch blade 15. hen the blade is turned to engage the contact as shown in Fig. 1, the circuit will then be completed through this contact, end piece or head 9, metall c core 21 of the sparking plug and sparkingterminal thereof inside the cylinder. suming now that it is. desired to cut oub the sparking plug. In such case the switch may be turned to a position indicated in dotopened. The difficulty of such opening,

1 however. is that a strain is thrown upon the electrical system. imparting more or less frictional resistance Instead of moving the switch blade as above described when cutting out the sparking plug it is moved down by the contact 4 and insulated side of the sparking plug and grounded upon the metal body 19 thereof (see Fi 5), connecting with the cylinder and which is in electrical plished by moving the switch blade\ into a position just short of a grounded position on the body 19 of the sparking plug, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, thereby creating a sparking gap. The advantage of this is that if no spark is revealed when the switch blade is moved into a position as shown in the full lines of Fig. 4, but appears when the blade is moved into a position as shown in the dotted lines of Fig. 5, then the evidence is assured that the ignition current is flowing, but the sparking plug is out of order.

-By means of the device one is enabled to ascertain which one or more of a series of cylinders are not working after a little practice. If all of the cylinders are properly working, such operation is attended with a. certain regular and complete rythmic beat or sound. If a cylinder is not working there is a perceptible variation insound. By now successively turning down the levers of the respective devices and grounding them upon the bodies of the respective spark plugs the cylinders are. necessarily cut out. If on cutting out a cylinder the variation of sound becomes more pronounced it is apparent that .the cylinder cut out is in proper working order. \Vhen, however, no variation in sound is perceived on cutting out a cylinder it is apparent that such cylinder is the one not in working order.

Another important feature is that the switch blade is capable of being readily removed from the stud, thereby effecting a break in the ignition system which serves to lock the system and make it impossible to operate the switch blade or substitute an equivalent means.

The device can be used with either battery, magneto, or any suitable electrical system, as primary electrical supply. \Vhen used direct with high tension magneto for ignition it provides a. means of testing the ignition outfit without calling into play the safety spark gap usually installed on magl netos of this type and also prevents anyl strain on the windings of the magneto or in case a battery or generator is used no strain 1 would be thrown on the coil or high tension wiring.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United State-s1 1. The combination with a spark plug harin an attaching. body. of a device hav- 3 ing a )ody of some insulating material and at one end thereof secured thereto means consisting of some conducting material attached to said spark plug to have electrical connection therewith. said means being provided with a contact adjacent the line of the side of said plug. a member comprising a switch support of some conducting material in communication with a wire of an electrical system attached to the other end of said insulated body of the device. and a switch mounted to turn upon said support. said switch having a blade of some conducting material in contact with said sup port. said switch also being adapted and ar ranged to the end that as the switch is turned the blade thereof may be moved to i cngagc said contact or upwardly past the same or downwardl into engagement with the body of said plug or into positions just adjacent said plug or contact.

2. A device of the character specified having a body of some insulating material and at one end thereof secured thereto means consisting of some conducting Inaterial attachable to a spark plug to have electrical connection therewith, said means being provided with a contact at one side thereof, a member comprising a switch support of some conducting material secured to the other end of said insulated body of the de vice, said support being adapted to have electrical connection with a Wire of an electrical system, and a switch mounted to turn upon said support, said switch having a blade of some conducting material in contact with said support, said switch also being adapted and arranged to the end that as the switch is turned the blade thereof may be moved to engage said contact or upwardly or downwardly past the same.

MELDUN H. MERRILL. Witnesses:

.Ionx E. R. Haves, J M as J. KEXNEALLY. 

